EDITORIAL: Newcomers face Tri-City’s big questions

If unofficial results hold up, voters have elected two new members to Tri-City Healthcare District’s deeply dysfunctional board of directors.

This week the two – Wayne Lingenfelter and Julie Nygaard – said their highest priority is that the board work well together. It was music to our ears.

The Oceanside hospital is a vital institution. Its health is imperative. But its elected board has delivered either steady decline or outright chaos for much of the last decade, undermining the hospital’s heroic staff, who somehow have managed to deliver high-quality care.

We won’t rehearse the litany of board shenanigans here. It’s time to look forward.

As a public district, Tri-City will need to overcome voter mistrust to raise capital necessary to renovate the hospital to state-mandated earthquake standards and compete with better-funded rivals.

CEO Larry Anderson has made strides toward improving the district’s finances. But weak results this year suggest that his plan to raise the money without going to the voters won’t work.

Given the blistering competition, not to mention the pressure coming for hospitals under Obamacare, Tri-City’s board may be forced to study a sale or merger to better serve the public if funds don’t materialize.

These are big, existential decisions. This board needs to grow up.

We have high hopes for Lingenfelter, a former Marine and hospital executive, and Nygaard, a former Carlsbad city councilwoman. Don’t let us down.